After getting spanked on national TV by the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 Sunday night, the Timberwolves sure to do seem to be in a pleasant mood ahead of what feels like a must-win Game 2 Wednesday night.
If head coach Chris Finch was trying to lighten the mood during Tuesday’s practice, he did a heckuva job by incorporating a joke about Rudy Gobert punching Kyle Anderson in the final game of the regular season on April 9.
“The mood? Yeah, we have a great mood,” Finch said when asked about his team’s head space. “Our team’s been in the same mood all season. Whether we’re winning, losing or punching each other it doesn’t matter, we’re in the same mood.”
Finch chuckled and so did the scrum of media members surrounding him.
The fact that the head coach was joking about the incident is a good indication that the water really is under the bridge and that Gobert and Anderson are cool with each other, just as both players said almost immediately following the incident.
The blowout between the two happened late in the first half of Minnesota’s win over New Orleans at Target Center. Anderson reportedly called Gobert a “b****” and Gobert retaliated by reaching across the huddle and punching Anderson in the chest.
Gobert was sent home that game and suspended for Minnesota’s play-in tournament game against the Lakers, though Gobert has since said that his bad back likely would’ve prevented him from playing anyway.
Gobert was a team worst minus-28 when on the floor in Minnesota’s 109-80 loss to the Nuggets in Game 1. Game 2 is scheduled to begin just after 9 p.m. CT Wednesday.
